How To Turn Your Lawn Mower Into A Leaf Mulcher

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If you have trees in your yard, eventually you will also have leaves on the ground. While having a layer of leaves blanket your lawn can sometimes seem like a nuisance, you can easily transform leaves into fuel for your garden. This process can be made simple by turning your lawn mower into a leaf mulcher. This allows you to create what is considered among the best mulch for your garden and lawn. With just a little time, a few basic tools, and a couple of minor modifications, your lawn mower will be an efficient leaf mulcher. 

Using your mower to turn leaves into mulch is commonly referred to as mulch mowing. In the simplest terms, this process just involves chopping the leaves into smaller pieces so they decompose more quickly to provide a nutritious boost to your yard. For lawn use, you can just leave the leaf fragments where they fall as you mow over them, assuming the layer isn't excessively thick. If you are going to be composting or adding them to gardens and beds, you will need to bag them once they've been mulched.

Many modern mowers come with mulching capabilities. In that case, all you have to do is set the height and insert or engage the mulching plug, and you're ready to go. If your mower does not have mulching capabilities, you still have a couple of options. One, you can simply mow over the leaves. This will indeed chop the leaves into smaller pieces, albeit not as small as an actual mulching mower. The second option is to convert your standard mower into a leaf mulcher.

The main thing that needs to be done to turn your standard lawn mower into a leaf mulcher is swapping out the blade. Unlike a standard mowing blade with a straight edge, mulching blades are curved and have multiple cutting surfaces at varying heights across most of the blade. This allows the mulching blade to create much tinier leaf fragments in a single pass. You will also need a mulching plug. A mulching plug closes the hole leading to the side discharge or bagger, essentially trapping the grass and leaves under the mower deck to be chopped repeatedly before falling to the ground.

You'll need to purchase a blade, like the MaxPower Mulching Blade, along with a mulching plug that is the right size for your mower deck and is fitted for your brand of lawn mower. These items can sometimes be bought together as a mulching conversion kit. Once you have the necessary parts, remove the existing standard mower blade, just as you would if you were preparing to sharpen it, making sure to disconnect the spark plug or power source first for safety. Once the old blade is removed, simply install the mulching blade.

Next, install the mulching plug to close off the discharge hole, which keeps clippings under the deck so they can be chopped repeatedly into a fine mulch. For those who prefer to bag clippings, skip the plug and attach the bagger. The leaves won't be chopped as finely, but they will be smaller than with a standard blade and easier to collect for composting or gardening.